Kim Borrell keeps her eye on the elm tree across from her home at 713 Harrison St., which is growing out of a mound of dirt on an incline.
"Will it ever fall and hit my home?" she asked the four Kutztown University students who recently began an inventory of Pottsville's trees.
The students weren't sure. They could only offer insights into the size, type and general health of the trees they're cataloging, which are on sidewalks 10 feet from the curb.
"This is tree 628," Mike Valentine, 23, of Brockton, a Kutztown University environmental science major, said. The students have been counting the number of trees they've evaluated.
"It's 13 inches in diameter," Tim Boyd, 22, an environmental science major from Perkiomenville, Montgomery County, said.
"There are parts where there aren't leaves on the tips of the tree. That's called dieback. That's when the leaves aren't growing any longer on the ends of the tree," Christina Radley, 21, an environmental science major from Lansdale, Montgomery County, said.
"The bark doesn't have any wounds that haven't healed. That's a good sign. It has a lot of room to grow too. It may come out of the ground eventually, but right now the roots are still in the ground," Radley said.
"It will never fall on my house, right?" Borrell asked.
"Not right now," Radley said.
"But we can't promise it won't," Cathryn Pugh, 20, a biology major from Wyalusing, Bradford County, said.
The interns are being paid by a U.S. Forest Service grant to complete the four- to five-week project, which began May 19. They are doing the work for the Pottsville Shade Tree Commission, under their adviser, Chris Sacchi.
"There are a few benefits. One is it will give us a good inventory. Up to this point, we really had no idea how many shade trees we had. And knowing the condition of those trees will help us to protect the trees we have and remind us to replace the ones that need to be replaced," city Administrator Thomas A. Palamar said Monday.
"The inventory is going to help us with our management plan. It's going to identify where we should plant trees, what species we should have. Those students from Kutztown are doing an excellent job. They're enthusiastic and very knowledgeable," Joe Orlowsky, chairman of the Pottsville Shade Tree Commission, said.
The commission should have a copy of their evaluation by August, Pugh said.
The students are recording their findings on evaluation forms, and using Apple iPads and "iTree software" to help them identify the trees they come upon, Radley said.
People interested in learning more about that software can visit www.itreetools.org.
"We walk down the streets and any tree that's within 10 feet of the curb is considered a street tree unless it's in a natural forested area," Radley said.
"A majority are on the sidewalks," Boyd said.
The students would be able to spot potential dangers, like the emerald ash borer, an exotic beetle which has been destroying ash trees in more than 19 states across the country, Boyd said. As of Monday, they haven't spotted any of those in Pottsville, Boyd said.
So far, they've covered many of the streets on the city's west side. Some of the biggest trees they've seen were on Mahantongo Street.
"In Pottsville, you also have a lot of pear trees, especially callery pear trees on the main streets," Pugh said, referring to Centre and West Market streets.
For the most part, those are in good shape, Boyd said.
"Some of them need pruning here and there, but they're actually in pretty good health," Pugh said.
"A lot of them are young, too," Valentine said.